Corsets, crowns and collars are just a few of the adornments that Haute and Freddy’s loyal fanbase, “The Royal Court,” wear to the L.A. alt-pop duo’s larger-than-life shows. Their baroque, carnivalesque aesthetic has been all the rage for concertwear ever since the release of their debut album, Big Disgrace, this past March, and the subsequent virality of their breakout single, “Shy Girl.” Haute and Freddy have now released a brand-new, '80s-inspired single called “Touch Touch.”
According to the band’s lore, Haute and Freddy are circus runaways.
“Haute and Freddy escaped from the circus where they were raised. They attempted to do anything in the circus successfully, but they were just very mediocre, except for playing instruments. The ringmaster was constantly very annoyed that we were trying to make music at night,” Haute explained. “So we stole a circus cart and ran away, and stumbled into the kingdom of the queen. Now we are just stirring up trouble in all of the lands, and she tries to catch us from time to time, but she can't. We’re too fast, too cunning!”
Behind the jester garbs are vocalist Michelle Buzz (Haute, pronounced “hot”) and percussionist Lance Shipp (Freddy). Buzz hails from Houston, Texas, and moved to L.A. to write songs for pop stars like Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue and Bebe Rexha. Shipp, a Detroit native, also moved to L.A. for songwriting and production work for artists including Calvin Harris, Britney Spears and Rauw Alejandro. A few years ago, the pair conceptualized the Haute and Freddy project to bring their creativity out from behind the scenes.
“We both kind of tucked those [eccentric] parts of ourselves away when we moved to L.A. to become songwriters, and tried to not be too loud in a room,” Buzz said. “Everyone was very much about ‘Let the artist shine; you're just the writer.’ So, I think we really pushed a lot of that down, and it explodes through Haute and Freddy.”
Buzz is a big typography fan, and came up with the band’s name to fit a font she picked out for it. Her “Haute” moniker combines wordplay with irony that fits right into the project’s lore.
“I was watching this Galliano documentary, and I was really inspired by him talking about making his early works with friends. I had no money at the time — truly was so low and sad about being broke — and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Beautiful art can be made from nothing,’” Buzz said. “It really inspired me. And of course, that's the world of haute couture. It's so elite, and I love this idea of kind of rolling your eyes at that ‘eliteness’ and just being like, ‘No, anyone can play in the space,' which is what so many designers have done.”
“That's how I kind of felt about us as musicians. We were kind of like the writers that no one expected to do an artist thing. So, it just felt like, ‘Okay, haute couture. What if these two circus characters were to say it wrong, like they don't know how to pronounce it right?’ So, they’re like, ‘hot,’ and what does it look like? What looks good in that little [typographical] circle I’ve been looking at?”
The circus theatricality of Haute and Freddy’s music and live shows challenge aristocracy and celebrate freaks, bringing their audience into the narrative as “The Royal Court.” Surprisingly, neither Buzz nor Shipp have a background in the theatre arts. Instead, they find the Haute and Freddy project to be healing for their dramatic inner child.
“I was just a goofball growing up. I was the kid that was the peacemaker. I was making my family laugh when times were tough and there were arguments. I would come in and be goofy and dance around and yell and scream and make voices,” Shipp said.
“I was in show choir. I wanted to be in theater, and they were like ‘You can't join.’ Literally, I would audition for every musical, and they'd be like ‘No;’ I'd be like ‘Agh!’ So I was just doing jazz squares over and over again, longing. I think [Haute and Freddy] is a result of all that,” Buzz said. “Writing this music did save my life and give me a connection to [my inner child] again. I wasn't honoring her or feeling like she was present for a really long time.”
Haute and Freddy’s music came out of a period of intense depression and identity crisis for Buzz. When composing their breakout single, “Shy Girl,” Buzz was just experimenting with the organic processes of creating pressure-free music, and wasn’t envisioning the song’s potential impact. Shipp, on the other hand, had a feeling they were striking gold.
“I mixed ‘Shy Girl.’ I mixed it at the kitchen table on my laptop, and I was like, ‘I feel like this is gonna be pretty good.' We added a little extra instrumentation at the last second, and I was like, ‘Hmm, this is really cool,’ so I got a little feeling,” Shipp said. “You never really want to be like, ‘This is gonna be a smash,’ because nobody really knows. But I was like, ‘This is cool. I like this a lot.’ I had a feeling.”
If the enthusiasm of their midday Hinterland crowd was any indication, Haute and Freddy are well on their way to being the next big thing in concert couture, à la Chappell Roan or The Last Dinner Party. “Touch Touch” is their latest contribution to the fabulous world of glam pop, ready to hit dance party playlists everywhere.
